Tuesday February 14, 2017

It's no surprise what the FCC Commissioner really thinks about broadband, as this is the guy who thought 25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up was a severe overestimate of how high-speed internet service should be defined. O’Rielly has now gone on record again about his disdain for speedy broadband, hinting that it is an unnecessary gimmick that actually ties up providers from addressing users who are merely seeking basic connective services. Back in 2015, the FCC Commissioner downplayed 4K media and its pervasiveness, being technology that is obviously reliant on fast networks.

آ…that's not really true. Ultra-fast broadband and even consistent coverage aren't somehow mutually exclusive; we can focus on getting broadband to rural markets (first at slower speeds), and still enjoy gigabit speeds provided by the likes of Google Fiber. There's not a longer wait for broadband in Cleveland, for example, just because Google Fiber wants to bring broadband to San Antonio. As we've noted, the real reason there are stalled rural broadband deployments is a growing cable monopoly in areas that telcos are effectively giving up on. That FCC data now shows this is not somehow the fault of faster gigabit broadband itself.